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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Celebrim" data-source="post: 6358892" data-attributes="member: 4937">Simply, Cormyr and King Azoun don't exist in my game.  More to the point, 10th level is extremely high level in my game.  The world isn't crawling with veritable superheroes in every small village as it is in FR as written.  In the FR, 10th level is a guy who runs a bar who is semi-famous among the locals.   In my game, 10th level is someone of international renown.  There are few enough wizards for example above 10th level, that each could reasonably know the nom de plume of every other wizard above 10th level across an area the size of Europe.  Certainly, the community of wizards capable of casting 9th levels spells is so small, that every such wizard could conceivably know of every other wizard of equal stature by name and reputation throughout the entire world.  In general, one area of the world only has such an archmage come to the fore every couple of generations.  Such archmages as do exist are at no ones beck and call.  No one troubles them, and they tend to keep their heads down for fear of attracting unfavorable divine attention.    So under these conditions, if a truly legendary monster of the stature of the Tarrasque goes on a rampage as it is prone to do every 1000 years or so, there really isn't the expectation that anyone will be able to do anything about it save flee before it.  There aren't large numbers of powerful individuals at the disposal of anyone.   For example, in my current game, the most powerful king within 400 miles of the PC's is the Hurin of Talernga.   He's 8th level and built on less points than my PC's.  His most powerful subjects include a 6th level paladin, a 10th level fighter, and a 14th level expert.  Until recently he had the services of a 10th level wizard, now dead.   Within the city, the most powerful character (other than the BBEG) is the Matriarch of the Church of Aymyra, a 14th level cleric who at age 65 has no physical ability score above 8 and whom, if just one of the PC's got the jump on her would likely be killed.  In a very real sense, the PC's though only 6th and 7th level are collectively among the most powerful forces not just in the city, but in the whole region.  This is one of reasons that politically important individuals pay some attention to them and defer to their judgment in some cases.  Whereas, in the FR you can be a company of 15th level individuals who saved the world yesterday and be treated as nobodies.The PCs presently have no hope of fighting truly legendary monsters.   Even a moderate sized dragon is probably beyond them.  Collectively, the NPCs probably could deal with a moderate dragon, but only at great cost.  Great Wyrms migrating to an inhabited region on the other hand can be civilization ending events, as it might be centuries before heroes came along that were the match for it.   Younger dragons tend to lair in uninhabited regions.   Older dragons tend to lair in uninhabited regions because there are dragons there.  When you have something like the FR, were every city of 10000 or more can assemble a team of heroes the match for the Justice League, and there are actually large military formations of minimum 6th level fighters, then yes the demographics don't match the idea that there are unique monsters that represent significant threats.   I personally don't feel such demographics support the world as simulation.  They are useful primary for providing the world as game board, so that the PCs can reach high levels while not threatening the stability of the game world.   It's really the PnP equivalent of the merchants and guards in Ultima IV being among the most dangerous foes the player could take on and quite capable of facing pretty much any challenge than the player can undertake.  It ensures that the player of the game is channeled into dealing with the threats he is supposed to, rather than story/game/setting breaking decisions to challenge the non-monsters NPCs.  Don't like that the player is cheating the merchant?  The merchant is actually a 10th level wizard!  Don't like that the players are abusing the laws and customs of the city?  The captain of the city watch is actually a 7' tall 20th level fighter who duel wields vorpal longswords!  Now peons, go kill those goblins for me.  I'm too busy.  Etc.</blockquote>

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